Looking at buying my first Chesapeake Bay Retriever. Advice and help appreciated.

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I have a serious question, and please Chessie owners don't offense. Why choose a dog with that personality? Is it the challenge of training one that makes it appealing? If so, I get that. I have never been around CBR's so I really don't have an understanding of the breed. Thanks in advance for the insight.

I disagree get the right breeding and they won't shut down or sulk. All mine have had good work ethics don't snap at me during training or I will kill them. And can take pressure. I think I understand where you are coming from call Bill Burke since he is close to you.

Don't get me wrong any dog under certain circumstances will shut down. You don't need a 2 by 4. They can take e collar pressure except if your an idiot who doesn't know when to use it.

I agree with this post. I'm a Dogtra guy but if I understand TriTronics correctly it has levels 1-6? A correction of 1 or 2 out of 6 isn't going to work on mine. But the level isn't really the point because like everyone says, train the dog...the effective level is what it is and YMMV.

Originally Posted by bigo181979

Yeah I am not talking beating a dog with a 2x4 kind of pressure, I want a dog that you correct and you go on, not a dog that sits and sulks and it 15 minutes before we can move on. I am patient in my training of dogs, I don't mind if a dog makes a mistake as long as he keeps trying. I can work with a dog as long as he keeps trying and stubborn doesn't bother me either honestly. My big thing is I want the dog to keep trying, that way I can figure out how to get him to do what i need him too and he can figure out what I am trying to get him to do, then we both learn together. I am not the one size fits all type of person so I don't expect my dogs to be that way either. Most of what people consider bad things regarding the breed I am fine with.

You sound like a Chessie owner to me. Sorry if I misinterpreted your original post.

Dave, a Chessie is so very full of personality, that yes sometimes you are going to get extremes. Currently I have two labs and a chessie. I got the second lab because they really are easier to train, more forgiving. But if I were ever to get another pup, it will be a Chessie, since I have learned a little more. Mine is extremely smart, huge sense of humor, not the least bit soft or sulky, but will respond to a medium two on a TT ecollar for whatever you are correcting. Yes, you have to establish the proper pecking order, be in charge of all situations because if you don't he will. In public, our chessie is completely reliable with other dogs as long as they do not attack him. He is better than the other two because he has so much confidence. Doesn't worry. Just as in any other breed, I am sure there are lines that don't meet the standard. But after living with one, I hope never to be without a Chessie!

A Chessie is not likely to snap at you as much as sulk and shut down. However, if you lose your temper and keep pushing beyond any semblance of fairness, you may likely fire up their temper and that's when they'll push back.

As for pressure, most of my Chessies and those I've trained will respond very easily to a level one low on TriTronics, maybe a two and rarely...if ever... a low three.

Can't say I have ever even started a dog on a low 1, from time to time test my collars on myself and can't feel a 1 low or med at all.

I have a serious question, and please Chessie owners don't offense. Why choose a dog with that personality? Is it the challenge of training one that makes it appealing? If so, I get that. I have never been around CBR's so I really don't have an understanding of the breed. Thanks in advance for the insight.

I'm a chessie guy, so probably biased, but... they are the most loyal dogs you will ever see. It's often said they are a one-owner dog, meaning they bond tightly to one person and ignore everyone else. That's a bit of an overstatment but there is some truth to it, too. Chessies are also very protective, which many people confuse as being aggressive. I have a lab and two chessies, if a stranger comes to the house the lab jumps up and down in excitement and welcomes them with open arms. The chessie's? Well, let's just say they are a little less welcoming to strangers. But once they realize there is no threat, they are as friendly as can be. The other trait I love is their drive in the field. And by drive, I don't mean they just run fast and can't be steady on the line. They will not give up on a bird/bumper. Ever. I once threw a bumper for my male and it got stuck in a tree, high up out of sight. I had to put a lead on him to get him to leave the area. Went back to that location two days later, and he ran directly to the area and started searching. Their memnory is amazing, which can be a challenge at times. Chessies are not hard to train, but they are damned hard to re-train.

I once threw a bumper for my male and it got stuck in a tree, high up out of sight. I had to put a lead on him to get him to leave the area. Went back to that location two days later, and he ran directly to the area and started searching. Their memnory is amazing, which can be a challenge at times. Chessies are not hard to train, but they are damned hard to re-train.

I think those of us who have trained chessies are quick to point out significant differences from labs. It is easy to think of them as labs with a fuzzy coat on first appearence. They are not. Chessies, as a whole, tend to be much more serious dogs about everything in their life. As has been pointed out they can be difficult to re-train or 'fix' so it make life much easier to do things right the first time. Chessie have a sense of what they feel is fair and unfair when it comes to corrections. They do not like corrections they do not understand.

Like most things in life not everyone is looking for the same thing. Chessies add a spice to the retriever world.

When you look back at what the breed was developed to do it is not surprising they have some of the characteristics they have. Labs and chessies come from some of the same breeds of dogs. Labs were developed on the estates of England to retrieve gamebirds shot by gentlemen. Chessies were bred by the market hunters on the Chesapeake Bay. Chessies were expected to retrieve lots of birds in a relatively short time period often under harsh conditions. The dogs were then often left to guard the market hunters property until they retrurned from taking the ducks to market. A dog that was everybodies friend often resulted in stolen property.

Todd I agree can't feel a one. I've tried it since I used the Hillman method with my puppies but zero reaction. Keep in mind including myself that you are getting many opinions and one does not know what level they train their dogs or what they want from their dogs or what type of breeding they have. Take opinions with a grain of salt. Chessie like any other dog can be force fetched, collar conditioned, forced to the pile. The biggest problem in field trials and hunt tests for Chessies is there are just not many in those venues so most people don't get to see there performance. Many people just talk the talk and that is it. Your lucky if you see 3 Chessies running in any of these venues.